Transformation of large game IPs into fighting games… Break through the junk market

Large global game companies introduce fighting games based on their signature game IP one after another. Nexon’s ‘DNF DUEL’ based on ‘Dungeon & Fighter’, Riot Games with ‘League of Legends’ based ‘Project L (tentative name)’, and Tencent’s ‘Prince Youngyo’ based ‘generation:破 (codename expired)’ is under development. Coincidentally, all three games took off the veil at the same time and started attracting attention.

‘Dunpa Duel’ is a 2D fighting game jointly developed by Neople and Arc System Works. The main occupations of ‘Dungeon & Fighter’ such as ear swordsman, fighter, gunner, berserker, and heresy judge appear as characters and fight. Arc System Works is a Japanese developer famous for the fighting game ‘Guilty Gear’ series.

Nexon recently opened the official SNS of ‘Dunpa Duel’ and drew attention by releasing a new play video of ‘Dunpa Duel’. This video, which reinterprets the skills of the original ‘Dungeon & Fighter’ for a fighting game, surpassed 400,000 views on YouTube within five days of its release.

Riot Games also released a play video of ‘Project L’ around the same time. This game, which was first unveiled at the ‘League of Legends’ 10th anniversary event in 2019, is a tag match-based fighting game. Assemble a team of two champions and control one champion at a time. The other champion can be used for assist attacks. In the video, Jinx, Darius, Ahri, and Echo appear and perform combo actions.

‘Project L’ is expected to be a game that even beginners of fighting games can learn easily. ‘easy to learn hard to master’ is one of the key development principles of the game. It is known that combo actions can be performed in an easier way instead of entering complicated commands.

Riot Games said, “There is still a lot of time left until the release of Project L.

Tencent released a play video of ‘Code Name Pahyo’ at the ‘Young Song of the Prince’ event in October. Unlike ‘Dunpa Duel’ and ‘Project L’, which are based on one-on-one battles, this game featuring characters from Tencent’s signature game ‘Youngyo of the Prince’ is a fighting game that fights multiple enemies. It’s similar to Nintendo’s Smash Bros.

Tencent is developing ‘Codename Pahyo’ as a mobile game. A release date has not been disclosed.

As ‘Dungeon & Fighter’, ‘League of Legends’, and ‘Youngyo of the Prince’ have a strong fan base, it is predicted that the success of fighting games with the popularity of the original is high. However, some are skeptical that it will only show the possibility of IP expansion. The fighting game genre is a relatively small market compared to mainstream genres such as action, RPG, and shooting games, and traditional games such as ‘Street Fighter’, ‘Tekken’, and ‘The King of Fighters’ dominate the market. Because it is difficult to enter. In addition, the high barrier to entry in terms of operation is considered as a stumbling block due to the nature of fighting games. A Chinese game industry official said, “It is necessary to verify whether fighting games that have already moved away from the mainstream can receive the buff (reinforcement effect) of the original and be successful.”

Seo Dong-min, reporter for Hankyung.com Game Talk